Sometimes in life we're fortunate to meet someone who touches us in a positive way.
A person filled with a loving heart and a kind spirit.
You just shake your head in amazement at how lucky you are to have had the pleasure of being part of that person's life.
And in some small way, they change your life forever.

For many, in Brent Midlock's little ways, this was the effect he had with those who had the honor of knowing him.
He had a winning smile, with eyes that seemed to dance with happiness.
He had an awesome personality, and he was the boy you hoped your child would call friend.

This website is dedicated to Brent's memory.
Not a memorial, but a celebration to what he gave while on this earth.
He spent his life as all of us should, as each day was his last.
Everything Brent did, he approached without any kind of apprehension.
Brent may have known he wasn't going to be here for very long, and he wanted to experience all life had to offer.

Brent was welcomed into a loving, nurturing home with two older sisters, and parents' delighted to have a son.
A life for them, that now seemed complete.
They were a family who knew what was important.
Having God first in their lives, a solid marriage, and children that knew they were loved and supported emotionally.

Perhaps that's part of the reason Brent had the spiritual maturity of a wise man, and the playful spirit of a young boy.
Andy and Nancy instilled in their children a true love of God, and they lived their life as God intended.
They prayed every night as a family, thanking Him for the blessings they received throughout the day.
Andy was a Eucharistic Minister, and Nancy made sure the children participated in "story time" where the Gospel was taught on a child's level.
Devout Catholics, they raised their children with a respect for God and others.

Brent enjoyed his life.
He was a playful, energetic, happy, athletic boy who had lots of friends.
He was the kid who encouraged the underdog.
He was a team player.
Sports were his favorite pastime-- he played football, baseball, and soccer.
He swam for the Joliet Jets.
His dream was to play football for Joliet Catholic Academy and to attend college at Notre Dame.
He wanted to be an anesthesiologist, helping people before they had surgery.

He had sisters who loved and adored him.
Alexa and he could play together for hours.
They were best buddies.
Jana, being the oldest, was the "little mother."
Whenever Brent was hurt, Jana was the first one running to help her little brother.
And Brent, being the younger brother, found joy in torturing Jana.

Brent's favorite holiday was Halloween.
He wanted to be something creative and different.
And that he was.
His costumes - a garbage can, a mailbox, a golf ball - that would cause most parents to roll their eyes and beg their child to think of something else.
The Midlocks never discouraged his crazy ideas, but embraced them as their own.
Andy went to work, making awesome costumes and having fun while doing it.
Brent loved seeing people smile when he arrived at school, walking with pride, giggling to himself.
Alexa, carrying on Brent's tradition, this past Halloween dressed as a vending machine.
A part of Brent lives in all of them.

Brent was fun loving and easy going.
He had the uncanny ability of being able to mix with everyone.
He could play with Nancy's eighth grade volleyball team, and he could carry on an intelligent conversation with an adult.
He never had a problem defending a child that was being picked on.
It was as if he knew his purpose in life.
His purpose may have been as simple as people seeing God in him.

He wore a crucifix daily.
He took receiving his first communion very seriously.
With the soul of an 80-year-old man, he grasped the concept of his communion better than most adults.
A gift from his parents, Brent received a more expensive crucifix.
He took great care of it and wore it every day.
Somehow, Brent Midlock seemed to know the importance of his existence.

The kids' Easter present was a dream vacation to Mexico.
His last letter thanks the Easter Bunny and is now part of his legacy.
He wrote, "Dear Easter Bunny, thank you for the gifts.
God bless you and can you tell God I love him you are a good person.
From your buddy Brent."

Brent Midlock died believing in the Easter Bunny.
He died on April 26, 2003 - just over a month before his 9th birthday.
He died at approximately 11:30 A.M. in a swimming pool at the [5-star mexican resort in Playa del Carmen].
He was violently sucked into one of three underwater, uncovered 11½-inch diameter drainpipes.
One of the drainpipes, the pipe Brent was sucked into, was uncovered and there were no warning signs
indicating their existence.
The water pressure pulled Brent completely into the pipe from behind in literally a blink of an eye.
He was pulled in so far he couldn't be seen and had no chance of being rescued.

This tragedy has ripped apart Brent's family in ways we will never imagine.
But to give them any type of peace of losing their only son and brother, Brent's' horrific death needs to be told.
Possibly it will save a family from losing their child.
Suffering the daily nightmare of living without Brent can only be described as a living hell.
It is a journey that none of us can possibly imagine.
But it is now the Midlock's journey.

The opinions stated in this web site are the opinions of the Midlock family who are solely responsible for its content.
This web site does not contain the opinions of the web host, sponsor, Antidote Computer Services or any of the
parties or entities named herein.
Nothing contained in this web site is intended to encourage others to post material on the internet or on any web site that is intended
to defame, embarrass, harm, abuse, threaten, slander, and/or harass the entity or entities
responsible for Brent's death in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.
The posting of such material on the internet may subject the person posting such material to a civil lawsuit for damages.